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Page Outline:

1. Basic Facts
2. What Are the Major Commercialized Biofuels?
3. Fueled by Algae
4. The Future of Biofuels
5. What Is Washington Doing?
6. Sources

Basic Facts

• Biomass, such as corn, soybeans, etc. is made up of carbohydrates. In contrast, fossil fuels are made up of hydrocarbons. The difference is that hydrocarbons are made up of carbon and hydrogen while carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.¹
• Biofuels are created through a process which turns organic matter such as corn, soybeans, and sugar cane into liquid fuel.²

Click to Expand a table of the Economic & Environmental Costs/Benefits of Biofuels

What Are the Major Commercialized Biofuels?

Ethanol

The following information on ethanol comes from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Website

“Ethanol is an alcohol, the same as in beer and wine (although ethanol used as a fuel is modified to make it undrinkable). It is made by fermenting any biomass high in carbohydrates through a process similar to beer brewing. Today, ethanol is made from starches and sugars, but NREL scientists are developing technology to allow it to be made from cellulose and hemicellulose, the fibrous material that makes up the bulk of most plant matter. Ethanol is mostly used as blending agent with gasoline to increase octane and cut down carbon monoxide and other smog-causing emissions.”³

Biodiesel

The following information on biodiesel comes from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Website

“Biodiesel is made by combining alcohol (usually methanol) with vegetable oil, animal fat, or recycled cooking grease. It can be used as an additive (typically 20%) to reduce vehicle emissions or in its pure form as a renewable alternative fuel for diesel engines.” ⁴

Differences In Biofuels
To learn the differences between several types of biofuels, visit National Geographic’s “Biofuels Compared” interactive web graphic.

Fueled by Algae

Government Research

The United States government, in fact, has already done a good deal of research in this area. According to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study,

From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fuels Development funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae.⁵

According to the final report on this study published in 1998, creating biofuels from algae is a costly process. The researchers conducting the study stated that this cost could not be easily reduced because it was more of a biological issue than an engineering one. The 300 plus varieties of algae studied could simply not yield a high light to energy conversion ratio. In other words, the variets of algae studied could not produce fuel very profitably. In their summary, the researchers concluded,

Even with aggressive assumptions about biological productivity, we project costs for biodiesel [from algae] which are two times higher than current petroleum diesel fuel costs.⁶

Private Commercial Research

In contrast to findings of the government studies, several commercial companies have found algae-biofuel prduction to be a profitable enterprise.

In the paragraphs below, you will find information on two up and coming companies in the field of algae-biofuel production. Keep in mind that many other companies are working on this technology as you read these brief case studies.

Valcent Products Inc.

Valcent Products, a company based in Vancouver, B.C. and El Paso, Texas, has “develop[ed] a photosynthetic bioreactor which is being employed to grow massive quantities of fast-growing vegetable oil producing algae as feedstock for refineries that produce biodiesel…⁷

In their pilot project, Valcent Products claimed to have created biofuel from algae at a cost of $25 per barrel.⁸

According to Valcent Products Inc., the “conventional pond-grown algae,”-this was what the U.S. government was growing during their 1970s and 80s studies- only produces about 10,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year. Valcent’s HDVB bioreactor system, in comparison, supposedly yields over 100,000 gallons of biofuel per acre annually.⁹

To watch an informational video of the Valcent system click here.

Green-Fuel

Another company leading the way in algae-biofuel production is Green-Fuel. Green-Fuel was launched in 2001, “a year that gas prices topped out at $1.66.”¹⁰ Founded by former MIT postdoctoral researcher Isaac Berzin, Green-Fuel’s first working algae bioreacters were installed on top of a powerplant which supplied MIT’s electricity.¹¹

Once operational Berzin’s bioreacters actually harvested CO2 from the air. According to some reports, the “system captured up to 82% of the CO2 in flue gases from an MIT power plant fired by natural gas.”¹²

Currently, Berzin and his company are working toward large scale commercialization of their technology.¹³

Future of Biofuels

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the “Long-term [biofuel] plans include growing and using dedicated energy crops, such as fast-growing trees and grasses, that can grow sustainably on land that will not support intensive food crops.”¹⁴

What Is Washington Doing?

Studies In Progress

Presently, a biofuel research project is being conducted jointly by the ERS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The purpose of this project is “to coordinate a multiscale assessment of the economic impact of feedstock production for sustainably producing biofuels.”¹⁵

Biofuels, Energy Security, & Congress

In an interview conducted by Nature.org, Dr. Fargione, Research Science Director for The Nature Conservancy, spoke on the actions of Congress in regard to the passage of a 2007 biofuel mandate.¹⁶ The following is an excerpt from the transcript of that interview taken from The Nature Conservancy website.

Nature.org: But won’t biofuels contribute to energy security?

Joe Fargione: Unfortunately, not much. Congress recently passed a 36-billion-gallon biofuel mandate, but that will offset only 14 percent of projected gasoline usage by the year 2022 and would require about 60 million acres. After accounting for the energy needed to produce the ethanol, the true offset would only be 8-11 percent.

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Sources